Ask the Car People.SM


OLD CARS -The truth .Owners tales.How they really were.

309 messages,  Last post on Jul 08, 2008 at 7:21 PM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum.

What is this discussion about? Coupe, Convertible, Sedan

Messages Page 28 of 31

#270 of 309 Re: Speaking of the National DeSoto Club... [lemko] by grbeck

Mar 04, 2008 (1:11 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Mar 04, 2008 12:28 pm)
The amazing thing is that meets for a lot of these clubs resemble a meeting of the senior division of the AARP, so they should be happy when a younger person shows interest in their favored marque! The nice thing about the Carlisle shows is that they attract a pretty fair number of young people.

#271 of 309 Re: Speaking of the National DeSoto Club... [grbeck] by lemko

Mar 04, 2008 (2:10 pm)

Replying to: grbeck (Mar 04, 2008 1:11 pm)
These older dudes gotta appreciate the fact that guys like ourselves will keep an appreciation for those old cars going long after they've passed away. I've given some thought to as what is to become of my Brougham when I'm gone. There is some hope. I had some young dude interested in my 1988 Buick Park Avenue. Who knows? Maybe cars of the 1980s will be a hot commodity someday?Remember, back in the 1960s and well into the early 1980s, 1950s cars were derided and mocked. Today, they are cherished icons of a time that seems so long ago and far away.

#272 of 309 Re: Speaking of the National DeSoto Club... [lemko] by itochu

Mar 04, 2008 (2:38 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Mar 04, 2008 2:10 pm)
Ah --the GM cars of 1958. Cathedrals of Chrome!! Those '58 Buicks and Oldsmobiles were awesome examples of American automobiles for the more well to do masses at their finest. Not like the Duesies and Packards and LaSalles of yesteryear that ONLY the very rich could afford. I have no idea what they were like to drive, ride in or own - my father had Chevies - a '58 Yeoman Wagon with a 6 cylinder engine! Good Lord - that thing weighed like 4300 lbs.+ and had NET 125hp! Could literally NOT climb some hills any faster than an 18 wheeler!! Then a 1959 Impala with a 283 whose hood would shake as you neared 95 MPH. When he got our '61 Pontiac Ventura it was like being in an other world! The differences among the divisions was SO great back then.

#273 of 309 Re: Speaking of the National DeSoto Club... [lemko] by andre1969

Mar 04, 2008 (4:48 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Mar 04, 2008 2:10 pm)
There is some hope. I had some young dude interested in my 1988 Buick Park Avenue. Who knows? Maybe cars of the 1980s will be a hot commodity someday?
 
Well, already, I think a lot of people appreciate GM's RWD mid and full-sized cars from the 80's. The Buick Grand National and especially the 1987 GNX are pretty sought after. And to a lesser degree, there's the Monte SS and Olds Cutlass Hurst/442. Now I don't think any of the rest of them will ever become high-dollar collectibles, but I could see something like, say, a 1985 Caprice one day being about as desireable as, say, a 1965 4-door Impala with a 283 is today.
 
I remember the first year I took my '79 5th Ave to Carlisle, someone left a note on it saying that if I was ever interested in selling it to give them a call. Now who knows? Maybe they were looking for a demo derby car, or sacrificial lambs for a monster truck rally! But I have had young people come up and compliment me on it. We have this new guy in our office who's about 30, and drives a 1993 Camry, who just thought it was the coolest thing when he saw it in the parking lot at work one day. I also had some old guy pull up beside me once at a traffic light, look over at me, and sort of do a double take, as if he was shocked to see someone that young driving a car like that! Oh, and once I was next to this BMW 3-series on the highway that had a fart can on it, and the driver seemed kind of annoyed at me. I think it's because my 5th Ave, with no muffler on it, was drowning out his fart can! (seriously, who puts a fart can on a BMW?!)

#274 of 309 classic iorn by loosenut

Mar 04, 2008 (7:31 pm)

my uncle was a motorhead -back in the days while i was just 10/12,and had a baby blue and white crown victoria -55 ford..i rember going to the bone yard with grandad,looking for a rearend for it,and they were trying to decide if a custom's rear would fit,i -even then,said the only diffrence was the donor didn't have the crown on the emblem or the stainless band on the roof,as if that might make a diffrence if the rearend would fit..his next one was a 68 impala ss with a 396 4 speed,..oh,to have that car today,,just as i turned 15,my stepdad rolled a beautiful 65 chevelle ss 396 powerglide auto,it broke my heart to see what might have been my first car with the windshield flat aganst the body,as the top was down when he missed the curve..OH WELL!!
..my first was a -50 ford with a flathead 6/three on the tree..you couldn't keep a starter in that piece of....history,and i push started it untill i got rid of it..
my 64 impala ss was nicer,as was my 65 rustang(i live in ohio)..
---when i ended up in southern california in the late -80/early -90's,i was amazed at the vintage-unrestored iorn that was still running around!..a-59 galaxy skyliner retractable hardtop,literally being driven by the little old lady from pasadena!..i picked up a-73 2 door fleetwood in great origional condition for $500..!!..if i'd only had the money,..i also had a-64 bug for 300,that car lasted me for three yrs,and still ran when i finally sold out and came home!!..i then watch the local car guy's gluing floorboards on those "bondo buggies",trying to save camaro's and chevelles..
--now days,the astronomical amounts they get for a ss,or a super bee blows me away..

#275 of 309 Early GM Iron by dougb10

Mar 05, 2008 (4:25 am)

The first car I ever owned was when I was in college in 1957.
I bought a 1947 Oldsmobile 2 door fastback from the elderly lady owner for $350.
 
It was a straight 6 with a hydramatic transmission. You might say it was rather sloooow! The best part of the car was the 12 tube radio which cranked out the tunes with pretty good quality...helping coordinate with the car's other best feature(a huge back seat that beckoned late night entertainment....if you get my drift.)
 
The car was a real oil burner....fortunately, it had a working oil gauge...I would just stop the car and add more oil from the gallon can of Nu-Gold oil that I kept in the trunk.
 
This slush box always started in the coldest Toronto Canada winter we had for the year and a half that I had it....traded it in to a dealer on a '53 Chevy Bel Air...who sold the Olds to some unfortunate who blew the engine in a week.
 
Ah, the memories.
 
Doug

#276 of 309 1966 Mustang by jlflemmons

Mar 05, 2008 (10:39 am)

What a nightmare. If the thing hadn't looked so sporty, it would have gone down in history of having almost as many issues as a Vega. Couldn't keep a clutch in it (yes, I am very good with a stick. Have owned several), the electricals were spotty at best, brakes by Schwinn, rust by Bondo, and suspension by the lowest bidder.
 
My grandmother used to say that car was like a person going to the dentist. Everytime it parked, the hood went up. Craziest thing it ever did to me was flying down the highway one night, I reached down and turned on the AC. The headlights went out. On a curve, at 70mph. Determined later that there was a short in the wiring to the compressor, and when I turned it on, it grounded all the power to the fuse box, lights included.

#277 of 309 Re: 1966 Mustang [jlflemmons] by loosenut

Mar 05, 2008 (2:08 pm)

Replying to: jlflemmons (Mar 05, 2008 10:39 am)
you had one with air??..ooooh!...mine,i got to sweat it out with 260 air..(2 windows at 60 mph.)..i spent a few summer nights re-wiring my green 65 coupe
 
289 2 bbl 3 speed stick..ran good,but,like you say,under the hood constantly..
..mine kept busting the pivot point in the bell housing-where the fork pivoted to disengage the throw out bearing..it would disengage the clutch just enough you could start it in gear without going down the street,but you couldn't be in neutral and put it in first with the motor running,then i'd just shift without the clutch...i finally tore it apart and fixed it..
--i recently went to a police auction,figuring to pick up a car for a couple hundred..THESE PEOPLE ARE INSANE!!..there happened to be a 66 convertible..a six cylinder body-4 lug wheels,tiny shock tower braces,ect-that some goober dropped a 302 in it..the top latch was broke on one side,but the paint was nice..these idiots bid that car to 2800 bucks! at a police auction !!
i wouldn't have given that for it -RETAIL!!...god must love idiots..he made so many of them!!

#278 of 309 Chrysler B block engines by ljgbjg

May 05, 2008 (11:30 am)

Another amazing thing about the old Chrysler b block engines - 383, 413, 426 wedge, 440 - not only were they bulletproof, but the oil pump was external! At 115,000 miles, our 1966 Dodge Monaco 383 started making some ticking noises and the "idiot" oil light came on. I had to drive it home - had no choice. Shut it off.
Read up in Chilton's, went to the junkyard and got a rebuilt oil pump, crawled under the car, removed a couple of bolts - out slipped the old one, in slipped the new one. Tightened her up - turned the key - clackety clackety - hummmmmmmmm. Smooth as silk and off went the oil light. As you looked at the car, the pump was at the front right side of the engine. VERY easy to replace. God Bless Chrysler on that one - would never have made sense to replace it if it had been in the oil pan - too much $$$$$.

#279 of 309 Re: Chrysler B block engines [ljgbjg] by andre1969

May 05, 2008 (11:41 am)

Replying to: ljgbjg (May 05, 2008 11:30 am)
I had an '82 Olds Cutlass Supreme with the 231 V-6, and it also had an external oil pump. Similar thing happened...one morning the idiot light came on for the oil pressure, but luckily I was at home when it happened, and I just drove another car. One of my friends replaced the gears in the pump for me in like a half hour. The oil light did go off, but that thing was still on its last legs. Alas, the 231, at least in that era, wasn't near as bulletproof as the old B/RB engines.
 
I had a '67 Newport with the 383-2bbl for a couple months back in 1999. The drivetrain was rock solid and smooth, and the a/c still worked fine. But unfortunately, the body was rusting out and the interior looked like a training ground for attack dogs. It was probably salvageable, but then I bought a brand-new Intrepid, and had too many cars with no place to put them, and when the brakes went out that was the final straw.

Messages Page 28 of 31

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement